


Us - It's A Good Thing.

by Windlight



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: AU, Angst because life..., Can't name the kids yet, Coulson is a Badass Pennyworth, Domestic Fluff, Except Pennyworth is always badass, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Kidfic, Mwahaha, familyfic, kid!Tony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-08-30 07:16:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8523655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windlight/pseuds/Windlight
Summary: Bucky and Darcy sitting in a tree, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes...well, you know.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't fully committed to starting “This Is Us” because of time constraints and I just know I'm going to be bawling each episode (it gets bad like that). But I shall...eventually! Anyway, the little I know about that show inspired this fic. I am an unashamed Fluff-addict and I apologize not. :P
> 
> Events, timelines and characters are being moved around for me to accomplish one thing I absolutely needed for this plot. I needed it for myself, but I'm sure it will be glaringly obvious once you hit it...ha!
> 
>  
> 
> **11/19/16 Edit: I had to switch up where the italics were (now on Darcy's inner monologues) because it wouldn't work going forward otherwise. Thanks and sorry for the confusion!**

_Growing up, Darcy had been somewhat decent with kids, but she'd never exactly gone out of her way to hang out with ankle-biters of any kind. Instead, she'd preferred to spend her childhood summers helping out at her dad's print shop, rubbing elbows with the wide variety of customers his skill set brought their way. It had been a fascinating thing for her, learning how big the world was from customers who seemed to go everywhere and do everything and brought back the photos to prove it._

_She never thought it was odd that she'd preferred the company of adults in her younger years. Darcy had been no outcast with kids her age, her loud, colourful personality made sure of it – but people who were adulting simply spoke about things that interested her more and Darcy had always had a pretty decent handle on dealing with adults. While some called it being an old soul, she just figured it was simply being able to pay attention to the little details and knowing when to stay quiet._

_Fast forward to the year Darcy turned fifteen, when her oldest sister, Karen, got knocked up in her senior year, had the baby and consequently checked out of all of their lives, leaving her parents, Laura (the middle sister) and Darcy to raise the little booger. Their little booger._

_Her niece, Christina Lewis, had been raised fully aware of the circumstances of her birth and who her parents were but she certainly had not received any less love because of it. Mom and Pops wouldn't have it any other way. The Lewis' were a tight-knit crew and Darcy never thought it was a bad thing to be aware of how fortunate she was. The whole thing felt like gaining a little sister, really._

_Darcy got a bit older, watched her sweet sister, Laura, marry some guy who used to run with the circus (yeah, the circus) and head off to that distant, beautiful land called 'Wedded Bliss'. That pairing had been a little (a lot) unexpected, seeing as Laura was the most level-headed adult Darcy knew, other than their own mother._

_Still, who was she to question the strange workings of love? Laura was happy and so was Clint. It was so obvious and so precious. Of course, it went without saying that Darcy would take him out if he ever hurt her darling sister, but until then, giving him the benefit of the doubt seemed to be working just fine._

_She went on to do the school thing, found a job opportunity helping some zany astrophysicist and ended up finding a best friend/soulmate in the one and only Jane Foster._

_Then, one day the New Mexico sky they'd been toiling under, opened up and vomited Thor and all of his drama on their lives, neatly providing a rude awakening to the fact that humans were most definitely not alone in the universe. After the initial three weeks of freaking out, Darcy simply figured she just needed to roll with it. There was no use getting all worked up over something she would possibly never be able to understand. Besides, Jane was out-of-her-mind excited enough for the both of them and would be for the next decade or so._

_Also, apparently, Clint “I-used-to-run-with-the-circus” was a freaking Secret Agent Man. Move the hell over Johnny Rivers and Bond-James-Bond._

_What was worse? Her dear, sweet, innocent sister Laura had known the entire freaking time. Well, at least Darcy had had a familiar face around when intergalactic(?) wars were brought right to earth's doorstep. It seemed that his government agency had been keeping tabs on the entire Asgard-Midgard saga from the moment Thor crash landed on earth. They'd also been keeping tabs on Jane, Darcy, Erik, their research and everything else that had to do – even a tiny, tiny, bit – with the workings of universes beyond their own._

_It was at this point that Darcy very briefly considered cutting Clint out of her life but the guy really wasn't so bad once you got past the fact that he most likely had to “take people out” on occasion with a bow and arrow. I mean, if Laura was working through all of that as best as she could, couldn't Darcy try a little? Secret Agent Man was also pretty decent at making cute babies with Laura, so, yeah, that plan was a no-go._

_Funny thing was, a few months later, it wasn't even their tie to Thor that resulted in her getting shot in place of Jane, who had been the actual target of the attack. It was some random bank robber who happened to be coming in as they were leaving and hadn't particularly taken a shine to Jane's biting, post week-long science bender sarcasm._

\- - - - -

Darcy felt like she was wading through thick, waist-deep mud and growing more and more tired by the second. Yet, all she could see was darkness. It was all around her, above her and below, but she was warm and she wasn't afraid. It wouldn't hurt to get a bit of rest before trying to get back. Back to...Darcy couldn't remember where. She just needed to get back...maybe?

“Awaken, little mother. This is no time to take your final rest."

She heard a voice, but saw no one. Darcy tilted her head in the darkness, but there were no other sounds. She tried to speak but found that she couldn't.

“Darcy, dear, you really must awaken.”

Slowly, so slowly, her eyes opened and she beheld the beautiful face of a goddess. She'd never 'beheld' anything in her life. Looked? Observed? Yes and yes. Beheld? Nope.

“Good.”

The goddess leaned over and pressed a kiss to Darcy's forehead, a kiss imbued with warmth and a feeling of contentment that spread to every inch of her body.

This time, when Darcy closed her eyes, she drifted away to a place without darkness.

\- - - - -

“Darcy! Thor, she's awake! Doc – Thor, get the doctor!!"

Her eyes opened once more and this time Jane's face was literally inches away from her own.

“Darcy!” Jane crooned, those honey-brown eyes immediately filling with tears. She began babbling about why Darcy was to never, ever, ever put herself in harm's way for any reason at all, for anyone at all because Jane would have to end her if she died without her permission and Jane really wasn't a killer, well, except maybe for the occasional bug and- 

Behind Jane, Thor came into view, looming over his beloved. He opened his mouth to say something but his attention caught on something above Darcy's head. Darcy watched as his gaze slid down to meet hers, a question in his eyes. Clueless as to what he was meaning, Darcy blinked twice. He gave her a tender smile and moved around Jane to kiss Darcy's cheek, his large hand gently running over her head in a soothing manner.

“Lady Darcy, I will never forget what you have given.”

Darcy blinked once more and let the tears fall as Jane tearily fussed over her before the doctor came in to check on how she was doing.

\- - - - -

_Sure, Darcy had thought about the distant possibility of having children of her own eventually, but when a bullet taken for a loved one took that possibility from her...well, Joni Mitchell said it best when she sang about that Big Yellow Taxi._

_It wasn't like she'd all of a sudden become obsessed with her inability to now have children of her own but it did sting when she thought about the unfairness of it, late at night when there was nothing else to think about. Not that she'd spoken about it with anyone because they'd all been worried enough about her. That was another thing she'd just have to sweep under the carpet along with a host of other things she never quite got around to dealing with._

_Like the sands through the hourglass, time moved onward and she slowly recovered under Jane's watchful eye and Thor's tender care. She also got to find out how much Clint could hover. Poor guy didn't have much of a choice, though, because Laura was stuck at home, having just given birth to their second baby and couldn't be there to hover instead. It was cool though, Clint was good people and her sister had extremely good taste in men it seemed. The guy could quote Firefly backwards and forwards. 'Nuff said._

_Just after Darcy had gotten back to a somewhat more normal version of her life and back to working at Jane's side, Clint brought Thor a summons from SHIELD. His royal alien presence was requested by the Director of SHIELD in Washington, DC. Jane and Darcy were ready to send him off fondly, wishing him godspeed, but Clint made it clear that they'd been summoned as well and while saying no was an option, it really (actually) wasn't._

\- - - - -

Darcy fidgeted as she sat in a well furnished waiting room with Jane, outside the office of the Director of SHIELD, wondering whether she should have dressed up at least a little. She side-eyed Jane's casual science lab wear and shrugged to herself. If her boss-lady couldn't be bothered, who was she to upstage her? #nodisrespectJane 

Also, getting to the office was nothing like she'd thought it would be. There were no Maxwell Smart telephone booth elevators or doors, but they had walked into the building from off the street, so there was that at least? 

“What do you think they're talking about in there?” Jane wondered out loud for what had to be the fifty-thousandth time. “And why do we need to be here?” 

Darcy sighed gustily. 

“Hell if I know, boss-lady. Your guess is as good as mine, I just came along for the ride, really.” 

This time it was Jane's turn to side-eye Darcy, with no little amount of skepticism. 

“No, you didn't! This shady-ass secret government agency was totally not above threatening us to bring us here. I'm going to hold a grudge for the next decade for the way they handled my precious equipment after Thor's crash landing. The next decade, Darcy. I mean, we had to sit through nearly two hours of the proper etiquette when dealing with anything SHIELD, not to mention we probably signed our lives away at some point today. Also, did you notice that Thor got to skip right through all of that?” 

“All right, no I didn't. Jane, you seriously gotta calm down though. This isn't New Mexico where we could pretend to be living in blissful ignorance and rag on these guys night and day. We're not on home turf. Look, I'm going to head down to the coffee shop we passed on the way in and grab us something to munch. You're getting hangry, I think.” 

She waved the visitor's pass she wore on a lanyard that she'd been given after entering said shady-ass secret government agency headquarters, under Jane's nose. “This should allow me entry back in, but if not, tell them where I went.” 

Jane nodded and waved Darcy off, turning her attention back to the doors that kept her from knowing what was happening with Thor and the apparent powers that be. 

Finding her way to the elevators was relatively easy, straight lines were something Darcy could totally do. It was when the elevator doors opened that Darcy figured following someone who looked like they knew what they were doing was a pretty good idea, so she ended up following the agent looking guy in the immaculate dark suit, with equally immaculate hair out of the elevator and through hallways she swore they hadn't passed on the way in, until they arrived at the entrance. 

Once she took a deep breath of the air outside the building, Darcy felt her heart settle a bit. She was slightly surprised at how tense she'd gotten inside there, but it was to be expected, she supposed. Everything just felt heavier in there. 

Immaculate Agent Guy kept heading where Darcy was heading and funnily enough, he seemed to be moving straight towards the coffee shop Darcy had been thinking of. She shrugged, that probably just meant that it was a good spot to get something to eat. Not a bad thing. 

When she got inside, the line was a lot longer than she'd thought and at the very end of it was an older woman, whose snowy white hair was like a beautiful cloud adorning her head. Darcy got into line behind her and ever so slowly, the line inched forward. 

It wasn't until the woman winced before taking a step forward, rubbing her right hip gingerly, that Darcy had had enough. 

“Excuse me, ma'am?” Darcy tried, speaking as gently as possible. She didn't want to freak out the poor lady or anything. 

The woman turned to reveal a sweet face lined with the wrinkles of a life definitely lived. “Yes?” 

“Would you like to have a seat over there? I could grab your order for you.” 

“Oh! I couldn't possibly-” she began to beg off, an enchanting English accent revealing itself. 

“Oh, yes, you could possibly. It's why I'm offering. It wouldn't be anything extra, now, there's an empty comfy seat over there that you could watch me from. You know, to make sure I'm not running off with your order or something. Can I ask what you wanted to order?” 

A pair of incredibly sharp, alert brown eyes looked Darcy over before she chose to respond. The accompanying intensity that Darcy caught a quick glance of was unexpected and she nearly took a step back because of it. The intensity lasted for a tiny moment though, and the soft, gentle eyes from a moment ago were back. 

“I'll have my usual tea, if you don't mind, dear. Just mention Peggy's tea blend, my blend, and they'll know exactly how I prefer it.” 

“All right, Ms. Peggy. Coming right up.” 

Darcy helped her to the high back chair she'd indicated earlier and made to go to the back of the line but Immaculate Agent Guy, who'd been in front of Ms. Peggy, signalled for her to go in front of him. Darcy glanced at the three or so people behind him and they all nodded back at her. She hurried to take her place, mumbling her thanks to Mr. Immaculate as she passed him. He didn't respond. 

Suddenly, the line was moving along just fine and in moments she had her order and Ms. Peggy's tea on a tray with a teapot and the whole works. Satisfied, she was headed back to where she'd left the older woman, when she spotted some musclehead in nondescript, normal clothing and a baseball cap looming over Ms. Peggy's chair. Without thinking, her strides grew longer until she was in his space. 

Darcy looked down at Ms. Peggy's face but didn't see any signs of discomfort or fear, but that didn't mean a thing. She made sure to catch the guy's gaze (blue...so...blue) and asked, “Ms. Peggy, are you all right here? You aren't being bothered, are you?” 

Blond eyebrows lifted in surprise and his gaze darted to Ms. Peggy's before returning to Darcy's, this time warm amusement filled his face. A...very beautiful face. Darcy uncrossed her eyes and made sure her expression showed that she meant business. She didn't miss the way the corner of his mouth twitched upward slightly. 

“Oh no, my dear. This is a friend of mine. We were supposed to meet here but he was a little late.” 

Baseball Cap shook his head ruefully. “I'm sorry about that, Peggy. A meeting ran on longer than I thought it would. Here, let me take Peggy's tea from you.” 

Darcy let him take the tray from her, simply grabbing her own items in the paper bag and a to-go tray off of it. 

“Well, as long as you're all right. You have a good day, Ms. Peggy.” 

Ms. Peggy's face lit up as she smiled at Darcy. “Thank you for being such a dear. Take care.” 

Darcy nodded at Baseball Cap, eyeing him just enough so that he knew that messing with lovely older ladies was a no-no and left the coffee shop, headed back for...the shady-ass secret government agency headquarters. 

Or the S.A.S.G.A HQ for short. 

\- - - - -

_Darcy never knew what was coming._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU are awesomeness. Thank you and I appreciate you!
> 
> The response to the Dryad!Darcy fic I wrote in 'This Is Home' wasn't expected at all and while I apologize for how hurried and cringe-y some of it was, I thank you for it. You have multiplied the bunnies (all of the bunnies)...and the size of my ego.
> 
> That being said, I won't be posting a lot for the next two months because a lot is going down but be sure that I will be writing when I have time so that we can have some more fun in January!
> 
> There is either one or two or three more parts to this. I haven't decided but I hope to have it all up by end of the weekend.
> 
> Also, 3 guesses on who Immaculate Agent Guy is....


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Thank you for your patience and for sticking around and for that awesome response to the first chapter!! 
> 
> ...I have much more to say but I'll just say now that I had to switch where I used italics, in the previous chapter, because I didn't think it through and it wasn't going to work going forward so sorry (again) for any confusion!

_Nana Lewis often used to say that love was like a multifaceted jewel and that it changed depending on what angle you were looking at it. Darcy never knew quite what she meant until one day she did and, yes, there were better metaphors out there but this one totally worked for her._

_There were just so many different kinds of love and so many different ways to love and be loved and show love and sometimes the vastness of love could be a pretty frightening thing, which was of course where things got complicated._

_Darcy was naturally affectionate by nature and she could be giving, up to a point. She was a lot like her father that way. When push came to shove, regarding how Darcy felt or didn't feel about a person though, she couldn't be easily moved. That, she got from her mother._

\- - - - -

Darcy could almost feel her eyes bulging out of their sockets. Her mouth had already dropped open simply driving up to the Stark Mansion – sorry, one of the Stark Mansions – this one located somewhere in Washington, DC. If anyone asked her exactly where, she would have no clue whatsoever. Darcy's brain had stopped paying attention once she caught sight of the freaking half-mile lane leading right up to those gorgeous, gorgeous Georgian colonial style pillars. Forget about getting started on the quality of the landscaping!

So, maybe certain architectural styles turned her on a little bit.

Darcy reached for Jane's hand excitedly in the backseat of the SUV transporting them to their temporary home. There were two agents in the front who had been sent with them, one typing away on a tablet and the other, well, driving. 

"I know it's all sorts of wrong to be giddy about being stored away to be observed like lab rats but Janey we are going to be staying at what might be the American equivalent of Netherfield. Look, Jane look!"

Jane mullishly looked out the window and shrugged. "Whoop dee doo."

The urge to roll her eyes was strong, but Darcy was way too excited to cater to Jane's bad mood. A bad mood that had most likely sprung from a combination of not actually having seen Thor since they parted ways at SHIELD, three days ago, and once again learning that SHIELD was handling her equipment, this time relocating it to New York, where they were being told to settle for the foreseeable future. They would be in New York in two weeks' time.

"Boss-lady, I share your wormhole moments with you and I even get excited about the scientific babble you throw my way, even though you know I only catch every third word." She waggled her eyebrows comically at Jane, moving in closer when her best friend tried to look away. Darcy wasn't giving her an inch on this one.

Finally having enough, the astrophysicist fixed Darcy with one of her no-nonsense stares and Darcy thought this might be one round she was going to lose when Jane finally cracked a smile, as she shook her head at Darcy's antics.

"You're stupid."

"Nope, you are."

"Fine, I am," Jane sighed. "But what's got you staying so positive about all this?"

Darcy shrugged unable to explain the strange fluttering feeling in her belly. Putting words to what she felt was coming would probably make her seem legit crazy.

"I just, I don't know, I feel good vibes."

The SUV rolled to a stop in front of the mansion before Jane could ask anything further. They got out and stood there awkwardly while the agents who had accompanied them took their bags out of the trunk for them, without a word. These agents had perfected the art of the awkward silence. Absolute perfection.

As soon as they had all of their things stacked beside them, the agents silently got back into their vehicle.

"Agent Coulson will help you ladies situate yourselves." Agent Driver said before nodding and then zooming off, literally leaving the women in his dust. 

Jane and Darcy exchanged a glance before turning as one to look at the mansion, only to find a man already standing there, calmly staring at them.

"HOLY SH-" Darcy jumped, only to be cut off by Jane's undignified squawk of surprise as she bounced backwards into her own luggage. Darcy grabbed her friend before she embarrassed herself further by falling over backwards and causing a scene. Once Jane was righted, Darcy paused and turned back to stare right back at the guy.

"Wait, don't I know you?"

"Not particularly. We've never formally met but we have encountered each other before, Ms. Lewis." His voice was a strange almost lulling combination of matter-of-fact and chill, that nearly had Darcy standing at attention. The force was strong with this one.

She snapped her fingers in realization before pointing at him. "You're that Agent Guy from the coffee shop! Wait, that means-"

"Good afternoon, Ms. Lewis."

From behind Immaculate Agent Guy, Ms. Peggy stepped into view. Jane looked back and forth between Darcy's stunned speechless reaction and the look of calm, collected, cool on the other two faces involved.

"So, um, anybody want to fill me in?"

\- - - - -

"I know what this must look like, and you wouldn't exactly be completely wrong in thinking it," Ms. Peggy began to explain.

They were now seated in a sitting room that had totally been featured in some of the country's best design magazines - Darcy would know, she was subscribed to them. Beside her, Agent Coulson set down a tray of particularly impressive baked goodies beside the expensive fine bone china tea set he'd already placed before the ladies. Ms. Peggy looked them over. lighting up when she spied a specific muffin that she immediately reached for with the pair of tongs provided, and set it on her plate. 

Darcy eyed the goodies and then the stoic agent who retreated to his station, which was standing just behind Ms. Peggy's absolutely luxurious looking high-back chair.

He caught her gaze and shook his head.

"Baking is not a talent of mine."

Darcy nodded slowly. "Fair enough."

She turned to Ms. Peggy and sighed.

"Ms. Peggy, this looks like we've been set up and we have no clue why. I ran into the two of you just after we arrived at SHIELD headquarters and now three days later-"

"Three days in which we have seen neither hide nor hair of Thor Odinson," Jane inserted, an eyebrow raised as she dared anyone to tell her anything less.

"Yes," Darcy allowed. "It has also been three days since we've seen Thor and here we are sitting in a Stark Mansion, probably under surveillance. I won't waste your time, Ms. Peggy. Why are we here?"

Ms. Peggy took her time to respond, looking at Jane first and then Darcy. The sharp steel in her gaze that Darcy had seen merely a hint of in the coffee shop was back and it felt like she was sifting through her thoughts on what she knew of the two women before she would answer.

"Thor will soon be involved in certain SHIELD activities and because you ladies have been his closest contacts on Earth, Mr. Selvig included, it has been necessary to bring you up to speed on some of the workings of SHIELD, since you will now be interacting with the agency much more often."

Jane tapped her lips in thought before blurting out, "You mean, we're guilty by association, right? Well, not necessarily guilty, but definitely suspicious."

The older woman inclined her head towards Jane. “Quite right, my dear.”

Agent Coulson cleared his throat behind Ms. Peggy and to Darcy and Jane's surprise, she merely rolled her eyes before turning her head in the agent's direction.

“My dear Coulson, there are certain things the elderly are entitled to. Telling the truth when I see fit, is one of them.”

Darcy narrowed her eyes as she latched on to that last sentence. “And if you don't see fit?”

Jane nodded her head in agreement beside Darcy. Ms. Peggy's eyes glittered as she smiled at Darcy, it was a lovely smile at that. 

“Exactly.”

“I get the feeling that you just may be the most dangerous thing in this room, Ms. Peggy,” Darcy admitted before leaning forward to grab a cookie to pass to Jane before taking one for herself. Jane took it without much fuss and began munching immediately. “But I think I might like you.”

“You wouldn't be wrong,” Agent Coulson deadpanned, earning another eye roll from Ms. Peggy, who didn't even deign to look in his direction this time.

“You ladies are here because I asked that you be sent to me. However extravagant the Starks seem to prefer their decor, I thought it might be more comfortable here than having to stare at the walls of our dormitories for too long before you are sent to New York. Besides, I would appreciate some company in this place.”

Jane tilted her head in confusion, while wiping away any crumbs from the corners of her mouth.

“Wait, this isn't your home? You aren't a Stark?”

“Oh heavens, no. I am a Carter. Margaret Carter to be exact. Though my friends do call me Peggy and you may as well. I reside in this mansion for a specific purpose. My own abode is quite humble, compared to this and though I prefer it, my purpose for being here is much more important.”

Jane and Darcy nodded at her response, though she hadn't really actually explained much of anything.

“Your things have been taken to your rooms,” Agent Coulson interjected into the silence. “I could take you there now, if you'd like to freshen up a bit or rest. Ms. Carter doesn't have specific hours set for meals, so if you wanted something, the kitchen is yours to use. The chef is only here during the day.”

“I'll leave you to it, ladies. There isn't much that I can get up to these days, so during your time here, you are more than welcome to join me for a chat. That is, if you prefer.”

They stood and followed the agent through the house and to a grand set of stairs. Just before they reached the top, Darcy caught a glimpse of something moving from the corner of her eye. When she turned to take a good look at whatever it was, she saw a dark-haired, skinny kid scampering across the foyer and into the sitting room they'd just vacated.

“Uh, Agent Coulson?”

“That would be Ms. Carter's reason and purpose for residing here, Ms. Lewis,” he responded without turning around.

“What? What did I miss?” Jane questioned, turning to look just a bit too late.

“Nothing Jane,” Darcy dismissed, as she swatted at Jane's bottom in front of her, ignoring her offended yelp. “Never mind.”

\- - - - -

The next day passed by in a blur, mainly because Darcy and Jane ended up sleeping through most of it. Dealing with a highly invasive secret agency was some tiring ish, though.

By the time Darcy woke up it was just after 10 pm. She stretched languidly in the king-sized bed and after a decent yawn, then did her best impression of her absolute favourite yoga pose, the Shavasana.

She wondered what her family would think of the current state of her life. Yes, she hadn't asked for it but it had landed in her lap and if anything, Darcy did think that things (especially Epic things like this) happened for a reason.

Her mother would say to buck up and face the day. Her father would say take everything with a grain of salt and give it back with a smile. Chrissy was currently obsessed with some cartoon that Darcy couldn't make heads or tails of so, yeah, nope. Karen would say...well, she'd have some words for sure but words that Darcy didn't think would fit the situation. Laura would say... waitaminute!

Darcy shot up and rolled over until she could reach the bedside table to grab her phone off of it. Speed dial #3 was dialled and in mere seconds someone answered the phone. Someone who breathed very heavily.

“Whaaa? Who's this? Coop, what are you still doing up? Coop, babe, I need your mama. Can you pass her the phone, Cooper?”

“Hi Auntie Dee,” he said in that grave tone of his, before heaving a huge sigh.

Darcy stifled a sudden urge to giggle. She'd often joked with Laura about how much Cooper was an old soul.

“Hi Cooper. What's going on? How are you, little man?”

“Um, good. Here's mama.”

Darcy blinked at the sudden end to the conversation but listened to the sounds of the phone being clumsily transferred to Laura.

“Oh, thanks Coop. Here, go watch your little sister for me. Quietly, love! Quietly, she's sleeping. Hello? Who's this? Darce?”

Laura was just like a shot of instant happiness for Darcy. The mere sound of her voice calmed Darcy's soul like nothing else.

“Hey sis.”

“Darcy! What's happening? I haven't heard from you since last week.”

“SHIELD has taken over my life. I'm currently lying on a bed in a Stark Mansion and they're probably somehow listening to this conversation but I might permanently distance myself from reality and go crazy if I don't talk to someone about it. Namely, you. I don't know if I'm allowed to do this or if I'm now breaking one of the hundreds of NDA's I signed over the last few days, but I'm going to blow otherwise.”

Laura paused for a moment and then she took a breath. “Darce, you're using the phone Clint gave you, right?”

“Yes?” Darcy responded, puzzled by the weird turn in the conversation.

“And you've left the GPS on? You used speed dial #3 to call us, right?”

“Yes! Yes, I did all of the things Clint told me to do! Laura, you're freaking me out a bit.”

“No, hon, I'm sorry. Those are some things Clint put in place to make things more secure for us. We should be good for the next half hour or so.”

“More secure? Even if I'm with Agent Coulson and Margaret “Peggy” Carter? Laura, I'm completely-”

“Hold up! Who are you with? Darcy, what the hell, I mean, heck have you gotten yourself into?”

“I have no clue!” Darcy fairly wailed. 

Laura sighed again. “Start from the beginning, hon.”

By the time she'd finished recounting the events of the last few days, they had about five minutes left of secure talk time. Because that was a freaking thing now.

“You'll be fine. I know you will,” Laura assured her. “I can't say much because of reasons but you're in the best possible hands you could be in, especially for being introduced to this crazy world. I love you. Coop and Lila love you and Clint adores you. He thinks you're one of the funniest people he's ever met.”

Darcy narrowed her eyes. “Uh, thanks?”

Laura chuckled but continued. “I mean to say that we have your back. This was bound to happen, especially with your being tied up with Thor and his stuff, but it'll be okay. You know what Nana says: 'Us Lewis girls are made of sterner stuff than most. So be proud of it.' I'm pretty sure nothing has changed since we last got to hear that from her,” she reminded Darcy.

Darcy took a deep breath before exhaling slowly.

“Are you feeling like you can breathe a little easier now?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Okay, good. Now, go make something to eat.”

Her stomach grumbled at that exact moment and most likely loud enough for Laura to hear.

“How'd you know?”

“You only get hysterical when you're overtired or super hungry. Otherwise you're pretty hard to phase, Yoda.”

“Whatever. Love you and kisses to your little boogers.”

“Love you back and will do.”

“Bye sis.”

“Bye sis.”

Darcy hung up and stared at the phone in her hand for a little while, no particular thoughts floating through her mind. Her stomach grumbled once again reminding her that she hadn't eaten in quite a while. Some breakfast was in order. Ms. Peggy probably wouldn't mind if Darcy used the kitchen, right? 

\- - - - -

An awestruck Darcy stood in the center of the kitchen as she took in all of the features she had only been able to dream of seeing until now. She shook her head. Now was not the time to get lost in Starkland, it was time to snoop.

Twenty minutes later, Darcy had been able to collect the makings of a decent breakfast. The kind that even Thor would approve of. She had already put the sausages in and the hashbrowns would be ready to follow once the sausages were done. Even though there was more than two ovens in the kitchen, using more than one at a time felt strangely wasteful. Anyway, Darcy wasn't about to analyze why that was.

Darcy was about to start on her pancake mix when the kid from the other day strolled into the kitchen and then stood at the entrance, hands on hips, staring at Darcy, who stared right back.

“Hi,” she tried, waving a hand in greeting. “I'm Darcy Lewis.”

“Hmm.”

She eyed the boy, guesstimating his age to be somewhere in the pre-teen years. His dark brown eyes shone with an intelligence, that reminded Darcy of someone else. The mop of dark hair on his head and his nose and chin were clearly Stark traits. She'd seen the same features on magazine covers that had featured the young Stark's father and grandfather before him.

“Did you have a name? Or should I call you, 'Hmm'?”

He wrinkled his nose in distaste at that.

“I'm Tony. Tony Stark.”

Darcy smiled at him. “It's nice to meet you Tony Stark. I'm making some breakfast, I think Agent Coulson said I could use the kitchen.”

“Oh, Phil.”

“Phil, who?”

“Phil Coulson. He's the agent guy who was showing you around? Didn't you know that?”

Darcy inclined her head and took a breath not wanting to get testy with a kid. Especially this one.

“No. No, I didn't. I'm sure I would've found out eventually. Well, I'm just going to get cooking here. Did you want to eat with me and my friend Jane later?”

Tony shrugged, but she could see his gaze wander over the mess she'd made.

“I know it's a mess, but I'm telling you good things will come from this mess.”

He looked at her skeptically and she nodded. “If you're that worried you could come watch me work from over here. That way I'd know if things were getting out of control.”

“You shouldn't eat so late.”

“Yes,” Darcy agreed. “But this isn't an everyday thing. Once in a while is fine.”

Tony looked torn between wanting to retreat back to wherever he'd come from and wanting to observe the strange life-form that had taken over his kitchen. Darcy held out a measuring cup.

“You can make the pancake mix.”

That did it, Darcy thought, as he came closer but passed her in order to wash his hands at the sink. She turned to observe him as he did so.

“All right, I see you're already a pro at this, huh?”

His cheeks took on a slightly rosy hue as he tried hard not to look smug at her praise. Darcy quickly squashed the urge to smile that had started to emerge at the sight. Mr. Tony Stark didn't seem to take to being babied.

“I usually follow the recipe that my Nana taught me. Since I've memorized it, I could either tell you what you'll need or if you have a recipe you prefer, you can use that.”

“I guess you can tell me what you know. Does your recipe have chocolate chips?”

Darcy shrugged. “It can, if you want?”

Tony shook his head. “No. I like blueberries.”

“All right, grab your blueberries then. We'll make both because I want chocolate chip pancakes. I think I saw them in that freezer. You'll have to run them under some warm water so that we can use them, though. I'll work on a fruit salad while you do that. We need some healthy up in here.”

“Mmkay.” Tony trotted over to the freezer and did as he was instructed.

“First, we need some music. Do you mind?”

“No.”

“Would Ms. Peggy or Phil mind?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, then. Get ready for some of the best music from the seventies to the nineties, Tony.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, never mind.” Darcy set her phone on a counter in the corner and pressed play on one of her favourite playlists.

For the next while, the kitchen held a soothing energy as Darcy worked alongside Tony, only speaking when he asked a question or needed to be guided a little bit. After, he was done with the mix and Darcy was onto flipping her sixth pancake, she paused and looked up at Tony, who was now observing her from a stool on the other side of the island where the gas burners were located.

“Watch this. It's like magic. Almost every time I get to the seventh pancake-”

A sleepy looking Jane peered into the kitchen behind Tony, still rubbing her eyes. The boy whipped around to get a good look at her as soon as he heard her footsteps.

“I thought I smelled your pancakes. At first, I figured I was dreaming but then when my body nearly started to eat itself whole, I figured I'd better find the kitchen. Oh, hi! I'm Jane.”

Tony turned back to Darcy, eyes wide, until he saw Darcy's teasing grin. Then he began to giggle and Darcy's smile widened in response. Ten seconds after Tony started laughing, Phil Coulson materialized out of nowhere, only hesitating for a moment when he saw the child's grinning face. 

Darcy noted the tiny, miniscule smile, that popped up for a moment on the stoic Agent Coulson's face as he watched the kid have a moment. He met Darcy's gaze and nodded before gathering the ingredients for a variety of hot drinks.

Darcy liked the guy's style.

Jane looked around, still drowsy and asked, “What's so funny?”

“You are, sweet Jane. Grab a seat next to Tony Stark and I'll finish getting breakfast ready.”

“You're Tony Stark?!”

“Yup.”

“Well, cool, I guess.”

Darcy let the conversation that began flowing between Tony and Jane fade into the background as she concentrated on getting breakfast done.

By the time her cooking haze had lifted, Ms. Peggy had joined their merry little breakfast club and was animatedly involved in whatever Jane and Tony were talking about. Darcy listened in and realized it was Science, of course.

But wait. It was like a level of Science that a kid Tony's age would be normally be clueless about. Yet, there he was, effortlessly keeping up with most of what Jane had to say. It was then, that Darcy recognized where she'd seen that particular shine of intelligence that she'd seen in Tony's eyes from. Jane eyes had the same glow of intelligence too.

Well, all of that intelligence would have to wait. It was time to eat.

Darcy clapped her hands and indicated the spread she'd set out for easy picking while they'd been chatting.

“Okay, for real people. It's time to eat. I am starving. Ms. Peggy, I think there were some of the muffins from earlier still left over. Did you want one? All of this might be too heavy for you at this time of night.”

Ms. Peggy smiled her sweet smile and shook her head. “I only need a cup of herbal tea, dear. Thank you anyway.”

“Agent Coulson, you're more than welcome to join us. I'll keep the leftovers so it isn't wasted. Hopefully, your chef isn't touchy about who he or she shares their kitchen with.”

“That shouldn't be a problem, Ms. Lewis and thank you.”

It was on the tip of Darcy's tongue to comment on the Alfred Pennyworth-type vibes that Coulson was intentionally or not intentionally giving out. She decided to save that truthbomb for another day, though, choosing to grab a plate and wait for Jane and Tony to decide what they wanted to eat most.

After, when everybody was still chatting and happily munching and Agent Coulson was giving his two cents here and there, Darcy sat on her stool and took a good sip of Peggy's blend. It was an herbal blend that was floral and subtly fruity and deliciously soothing. She raised her mug to Ms. Peggy when she realized that she was being watched, and smiled when Ms. Peggy raised hers in return.

\- - - - -  
_A hearty breakfast did everybody all the good, all the time. That was a sure Lewis fact._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't tag to save my life and I always post chapter notes the wrong way. Like every time. I also had to go back to chapter one and tack on how Darcy realizes Ms. Peggy is English – because a Darcy who had never met her before would definitely react to that. I swear, this story was supposed to be much more simpler than it became but while writing this chapter, another chapter sprang forth. *le sigh*
> 
> Did you get that Kid!Tony was the one thing I totally needed to have in this fic? There's now a generation in between him and the Howard Stark who founded SHIELD with Peggy, to make time-things work. More on that in the next chapter.
> 
> I had to kick some butt to get this up here before the end of this weekend, especially after I said I would have it all up last weekend. Namely, my own butt. Things have indeed been crazy with life but I also got super stuck after the first chapter. Anyway, I will try my very best to finish this up this week.
> 
> Mmph. It'll get fluffier and there will be some angst and sadness and there will be a Bucky and a Steve and a few more special Avenger peoples in the next chapter but in the meantime, I'll satisfy you with this gif:
> 
>  


	3. Chapter 3

_Falling in love was difficult, staying in love wasn't. Or at least for Darcy, that was the case._

_She was an “all in” girl. Simple as that. The few relationships she'd had over her years on this planet had been deep and true. She understood that she'd always been quick to draw the line between the superficial and authentic. Darcy wasn't into investing her time for nothing._

_That being said, occasionally stepping out to have herself some fun was definitely not nothing._

\- - - - - 

Darcy didn't want to wake up but it looked like it was happening whether she wanted it to or not. She opened one eye slowly, expecting to have Jane perched on the bed, her face inches from Darcy's as she glowed with the success of some scientific breakthrough. 

Jane actually was very kind to Darcy's sleep schedule, despite often overlooking her own. Every so often, though, she needed another mind to share some of the load with and Darcy didn't have a problem with being that mind – as long as all of her coffee needs were met.

It was still dark outside and when she opened the other eye to get a good look of her surroundings, there was no one in her room. Strangely, she felt unsettled. As if there were more to say or do, or someone to meet and she might have missed out on the opportunity to do so.

“No, Darcy. You haven't missed out. I was merely waiting for you to wake.”

She shot up out of bed so fast, after hearing the voice in the dark she was sure she'd injured something.

“Wh-who's there?” 

If her voice cracked, she had every excuse. Someone had gotten through whatever security this mansion had to offer and of course, of course they'd managed to get into her room. She'd left her taser in one of her bags across the room. If she could somehow-

“There is no need for me to show myself tonight. A simple conversation will do, dear.”

There was something familiar about the woman's voice.

“Yeah, we can totally do that. You don't mind if I start hyperventilating, do you?” Darcy asked, already halfway there.

“Rest assured, there is no need to panic. I'm merely here to check on your well-being as your patroness.”

That stopped Darcy up short.

“Um, my patroness? What do you mean? I don't have a – wait, is that why you're looking for me? I'm sorry to inform you that someone gave you some really, really bad info.”

“On the contrary, I wouldn't be able to mislead myself. Not especially when I've chosen you.”

Now she just sounded amused. Darcy chewed on her bottom lip and wondered if she would be able to get to the door without the woman noticing.

“You could certainly try, I would notice, but I wouldn't stop you.”

Well, when all else failed...

“You're reading my mind. Yeah, um, that's completely unfair and even though I'm probably super-screwed, I'd like to ask you some questions and maybe we can solve this peacefully.”

“Very well.”

Darcy took a deep breath to settle what nerves she could.

“Who are you?”

“I am known by a number of things, but perhaps my role as Thor's mother is most relevant to you.”

Her jaw dropped and she stuttered a bit in her rush to push her next words out. 

“W-wait, who did you say you were? Thor's mother? As in the one who gave birth to Thor and not to Loki but raised them both?”

“You would be correct.”

Darcy stared into the dark, wide-eyed and a teensy (a lie) bit terrified (the truth).

“Your royal highness, ma'am, um, you could totally be who you're saying you are but how would I know...?”

“Mmm, yes. A very good point. You wouldn't know and if I chose not to give you any proof, it would put you in an extremely awkward position, now wouldn't it?”

There was no other answer for it. “Uh, yeah.”

“Well then, I suppose I shall have to leave some proof.”

A moment of silence followed but when nothing happened, Darcy narrowed her eyes a little, wondering if she'd missed something.

“Your royal highness, um, milady, are you...are you trolling me right now?”

A bright peal of laughter sounded and Darcy found herself smiling at the sound of it, however confused she still remained. 

“He did say you were quite entertaining, Darcy Lewis.” Then she heard a small sigh, one that spoke of unsaid troubles. “However different our stations in life, is it so odd that I would reach out for companionship? That I would look for another mind with which to share thoughts and ideas?”

“No?”

There was another sigh. 

“Never mind this old woman's ramblings. Sleep, dear chosen one. We will meet on another day.”

\- - - - -

When Darcy next woke, the sun had just risen on a crisp fall morning and the dream she'd had the previous night was difficult to re-call.

It had been a few days since they'd first come to the Stark mansion and things were definitely a bit more familiar than they'd been on that first day. Darcy hadn't seen Tony since then but she had seen Agent Coulson and Ms. Peggy around, making them feel as welcome as they could in this sort of situation.

After making sure she'd seen to her personal hygiene and that she was appropriately dressed for comfort and for not alarming Ms. Peggy, she made her way downstairs for some breakfast.

“Darcy Lewis!”

She jumped as she poured cereal into a bowl and narrowly missed spilling it all over the floor. Darcy twirled around and caught sight of Tony standing near the stove, glaring at her bowl, with half of the hair on his head standing up. The kid had major bedhead but Darcy wasn't about to say a thing about it.

“Yes, Tony Stark? What's up?”

He shifted from one foot to the other, looking reluctant to spit out whatever was bothering him.

“You're an okay cook, I guess.”

“Umm, thanks? I'm not quite sure what you're getting at Tony Stark, you're going to have to give me more.”

“We have some really important guests coming and you need to make a lot of food tonight for-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop right there,” Darcy exclaimed, holding a hand up to halt the words spilling out of Tony's mouth. “What do you think it is that I'm doing here?”

His brown eyes clouded with uncertainty and he took a half-step back as he stared at Darcy's face.

“Aren't you the new cook? That's why Phil was showing you around, right?”

Darcy tried hard not to feel offended but, well, that was a bit of a tall order. She meant absolutely no offence to any cooks or their profession at all, but way to tap into an insecurity, kid.

“I'm not the new cook, Tony. I'm here with Jane. I work as her assistant and Ms. Peggy was kind enough to invite us to stay with you guys while our new home is getting set up.”

“Oh.”

“Which is exactly what I was trying to explain to you, dear boy, but you were so wrapped up in the experiment you've got going on now, it was no use,” Ms. Peggy explained, as she stood at the kitchen entrance, looking every bit the distinguished Dame dressed in navy slacks and an elegant grey poncho sweater, cane in hand. Darcy took a double-take. She wasn't quite sure of Ms. Peggy's age but she was sure that she hadn't ever seen her with a cane before.

Tony nodded pensively. “Sorry, Aunt Peg but I had to keep an eye on the temperature. My experiment only works within a certain range of temperatures.”

“You'll have to tell me more when we see each other next, Tony. I am intrigued about what happened during your third round of testing. Darcy, I'll be away for most of today and Coulson will be accompanying me. His assistant, on the other hand, will be around to see to things around here. There will be several friends of mine coming over for dinner, about five or so, but they will be doing the cooking. In fact, they insisted upon it so you don't have to worry about a thing. I've taken the liberty of introducing Jane to the study and she's taken to it marvellously. Help yourself to whatever you might need today, be sure to ask the domestic staff if you have any questions and if I am unable to make it back for dinner, our guests will take good care of you ladies.”

“Oh, okay, yeah! I mean, it's Tony's house, we're just, y'know, here.”

Ms. Peggy smiled knowingly and nodded. “Yes, you are.” She shifted her attention to Tony. “Are you preparing for exams, young man? You return to school next week.”

A huge sigh was her answer but Tony grudgingly nodded.

“Good. I'll see you two later.”

Coulson, yet again, materialized out of nowhere and took Ms. Peggy's arm as he lead her to their chosen mode of transportation and away from the kitchen.

Tony and Darcy exchanged a glance before Darcy held out the cereal box and offered some.

“Cereal?”

\- - - - -

The study was a beehive of activity. Well, the word “study” was an understatement. It was a mini-freaking-library and it was becoming very, very apparent to Darcy that the Starks didn't prefer to do anything by halves.

Jane was set up on one end of the library, pouring through books that apparently were really difficult to otherwise get her hands on, regarding all sorts of fun space-y stuff. Meanwhile, at the other end, Tony had set up shop, with an impressive array of cogs, nuts, bolts, washers and some old blueprints that Darcy didn't care to make heads or tails of.

Darcy took up at a small table in between the two camps and created her own bubble of mediocrity, which included her tablet, social media, junk romance novels and a growing need to maybe go back to school. Just so she didn't feel quite so inferior.

At this point, the two were so absorbed in what they were doing that Darcy simply needed to have a non-committal grunt ready for whenever either one reached out to her for, well, nothing. They just needed to hear the problems they were dealing with being spoken out loud. For goodness sake, her fifth grade teacher could have told them how many problems were solved when things were said out loud.

The peace lasted for several hours until Darcy had had enough. There was only so much Science-ing a girl could take in a morning. Especially when she was in a Stark mansion and some more kitchen snooping was in order.

“I'm going to make some dessert for tonight, guys. I mean, I'll be making it with your ingredients, Tony Stark, but I figure it'll look good if we bring something to dinner, right? I gotta take a break. I can't be with you in Science-world anymore, Janey.”

“You were wonderful today,” Jane agreed and Darcy rolled her eyes at that, but grinned at her friend nonetheless who smiled back tiredly. “Are you making that brownie-peppermint trifle thing? That stuff is freaking awesome.”

“I haven't quite decided what the options are. I need to see what there is in the kitchen. It's crazy stocked up anyway.”

Tony looked up at Darcy and it took him a split-second to focus in on her, he was so far gone in Science-land. “Just make sure you make a lot, Darcy Lewis. My uncles can eat way more than the average adult male.”

Darcy nodded. “Sure, I'll make more, I guess. Thanks, Tony Stark.”

He nodded at her before focusing back on whatever he'd been building and Darcy left the study for the kitchen, but it wasn't until she was already searching through cupboards that she realized that she'd forgotten to ask just exactly who these mysterious guests were.

He had mentioned uncles which was...well, it was commonly known that Tony's father hadn't had any siblings and his premature death left Tony without family but Ms. Peggy had said that these were friends of hers, so perhaps family friends?

Whatever the case, Darcy would find out at dinner.

\- - - - - 

About an hour and a half after leaving the study, Darcy was just sticking two of her dessert items into the freezer, two pies that would need several hours to set properly. She glanced at the clock on the microwave and figured there should be plenty of time.

She turned around, about to get started on a lemon poppy seed pound cake, when a stunning redhead dressed in business attire strolled into the kitchen, sensible heels clacking as she headed straight for the pot of fresh coffee that had just finished brewing.

She took a mug out of the cupboard above the coffee maker, poured some coffee into it and took a slow sip. Her eyes closed with gratification and Darcy couldn't say that she didn't understand what the woman was going through.

Without bothering the redhead, Darcy simply went about gathering her ingredients.

“This is good coffee, unlike what they usually have on. This your stuff?”

Darcy looked up in surprise at being addressed by the woman. Her voice was huskier than Darcy was expecting, but it added to the general overall attractiveness of the woman standing just a few meters away. The grin she gave the woman was full of understanding.

“Yeah, my boss and I kind of live off of the stuff, so we cart our own supply around. Not everyone likes our coffee how we do.”

She returned Darcy's smile with a little smirk but some small spark of kinship had been ignited and Darcy briefly wondered whether she'd found a friend in this world of mysteries based on more mysteries.

“Smart. I'm Natasha, Coulson's sometimes assistant. You're Darcy Lewis.”

That was most definitely a statement. Darcy couldn't seem to find a question in there...or anywhere for that matter. Not counting the growing list in her own mind, of course.

“Erm, yes. It's nice to meet you. I've kind of given up on keeping track of who knows what or what I know so I'm going to assume you know what I'm doing here and why.”

That brought a small smile to Natasha's face as she nodded in understanding. 

“Did you need some help?” Natasha offered, now eyeing Darcy's workspace.

Darcy shook her head.

“Nah. This is how I relax. I need this for me but you're welcome to stick around and hang out, if you're not too busy?”

“Unfortunately, this coffee break is actually longer than I should've taken.”

Darcy looked at her strangely, wondering why she'd bothered to ask in the first place but couldn't help the incredulous burst of laughter that escaped when Natasha imperiously raised her eyebrows at her. Darcy chose to change the subject instead of taking her new acquaintance up on her unsaid challenge. 

“Soooo, are you joining us for dinner, Natasha?”

“Yes. I'll see you then.”

Darcy watched her leave before rubbing her temple. Was it too late to quit this whole thing? She sighed to herself before getting started on her pound cake. 

\- - - - -

The front doorbell rang at half past 5 and Tony shot out of the library like a bat out of hell. Darcy and Jane exchanged an amused glance and followed the young man of the house at a more leisurely pace.

Translation: They were nowhere near as eager to see the guests as Tony was.

When they got to the top of the stairs, Tony was halfway down them but Natasha was already at the door. Pulling it open and with the warmest smile she'd seen on the woman's face so far, she greeted whoever was on the other side with a, “Hello, boys.”

“Who is that? And how do I keep missing out on all of the happenings? On second thought,” Jane interrupted herself, raising a finger in Darcy's face. “Don't answer that.”

“As you wish.”

“I'm no Princess Bride,” Jane grumbled under her breath.

“Yeah, but you're Something. That's for sure,” Darcy whispered back, giggling when Jane swatted at her arm.

“I'll be fine once I have my equipment with me. I'll be more...balanced.” Jane explained, sounding as if she were trying to convince herself of the same.

“Mmhmm. Yup.”

“I don't know whether I like you right now.”

Darcy nodded. “Fair enough, but I made lemon poppy seed pound cake.”

“You're an angel.”

“I thought as much.”

Natasha opened the door wide so that they could see who was standing just outside the door and suddenly Jane was the one flying down the stairs and right into Thor's arms. Darcy watched their reunion with a tender smile before making her way down for a bear hug herself.

“Greetings, Lady Darcy! My apologies for staying away for an extended ti-” Thor stopped talking abruptly, as he lightly sniffed the air above Darcy before looking at her again, this time looking at her as if he'd never seen her before. “Perhaps our reunion should take place over there,” he murmured, lightly tugging Jane and Darcy to the side so that the others with him could enter the mansion. 

“Yeah, uh, thanks big guy,” said a familiar voice from behind what had to be the most delicious trio of the best manhood had to offer. A sharp pain on her arm snapped her out of the reverie she'd been about to get lost in, and had her pivoting towards Jane, who stood beside her looking determined but also apologetic.

“Did you just pinch me?”

“I almost lost you, friend. No woman left behind.”

Darcy clapped a hand on her comrade's shoulder. Ignoring, Thor's wide grin from behind Jane at their antics.

“Bless you.”

She pivoted back to the other guests in time to watch them come inside and greet Natasha and Tony and then her gaze landed on the face she'd been hoping that voice belonged to.

“Clint!”

Apparently, his easy grin was just as effective on her heart as Laura's voice was.

“Hey kid. Miss me?”

She chuckled and willingly went into his arms when he held them out for a hug. As she squeezed him tight, she felt Clint press a kiss on the top of her head. Darcy pulled back a bit so that she could see his face and gave him a cheeky grin.

“Maybe. Depends on what you brought me.”

“Ha!” He scoffed. “You sound like that one,” he teased, pointing to Tony who was standing by one man who pulled off the man-bun with ease. Darcy shared a mischievous grin with the boy, winking at him when he chuckled as the same man ruffled his hair affectionately. Turning so that he faced the others with Darcy still under one arm, Clint made introductions. 

“Gentleman, this is Darcy Lewis and the lady over there is Jane Foster. They, along with Dr. Selvig, were present when Thor touched down. Ladies, let me introduce you to Steve Rogers also known as Captain America, James Barnes and Sam Wilson.” Clint pointed to each man as he named them and while Steve and Sam said their greetings, James merely nodded his head when it was his turn.

“They're three of the best SHIELD has to offer, aside from Natasha of course,” Clint continued, gently closing Darcy's gaping mouth.

The smirk on Natasha's face was accompanied with that imperious eyebrow from earlier and she took the ribbing from her colleagues with some good-natured eye rolls and several sharp quips of her own.

Clint wasn't done though. “I believe everyone already knows who this young man is, well actually, Thor might not. Thor, this is Tony Stark and this is his house.”

Thor inclined his head towards Tony and nodded in respect. “Greetings young Master Stark. May peace reside in your home.”

“Um, greetings?”

That broke the ice, as the adults chuckled around him, leaving him with a dull red blush on his upper cheeks.

“Right!” Steve clapped his hands. “We can continue getting to know each other while we're getting some dinner ready. I'm sure everybody will be hungry soon.”

“Yeah. You are and will be,” James teased. “I heard your stomach on the drive over.”

Steve opened his mouth, probably to defend himself, but he didn't get a chance because Sam jumped in, dangling the keys in his hands for all to see.

“Man, you must be dreaming if you think I'm letting you anywhere near the food in the kitchen. I have tasted your skills firsthand. You're real funny, Rogers.” He nudged James. “Give me a hand with the stuff in the truck, Buck? I'll let you grill the meat, maybe.”

James clicked his tongue and side-eyed Sam as he crossed his very impressive arms. “What do you know about preparing meat?”

“More than you ever will, old man. I'm gonna need your help too, little man. Unless you got something better to work on?”

“Me?” Tony's eyes widened. “Uh, yeah, I guess I could help you guys out.”

“Let's get going then,” James announced.

The pair kept arguing about the best way too cook the meat was as they headed back out to the vehicle, followed by a terribly impressed Tony, to bring in what looked to be enough food for a small village.

Steve shrugged sheepishly at Jane and Darcy. “They're pretty good friends, if you can believe it.”

“Okay, we'll let those two work out their testosterone in the kitchen but I need you two with me. We have some things to discuss” Natasha ordered, pointing to Steve and Clint.

Clint released Darcy from his side and met her gaze.

“It's time to talk business, but I'll come find you after.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Without another backward glance, Natasha led the two men to another part of the mansion. The super secret spy part of the mansion that Darcy was realizing she really didn't want to know more about.

Jane turned to Thor and put a hand to his cheek, smiling up at him when his eyes closed in relief at her touch. 

“Come rest. I could use a nap, too.”

Darcy waved them off. “Go on. I'll come wake you when dinner is ready.”

Thor gently took her right hand and bowed his head to kiss her knuckles. Jane shook her head and Darcy giggled, before slapping Thor on the shoulder. 

“Charmer. Have a good sleep you two. I'm going to hang out in the kitchen with the testosterone twins.”

“Darce, twins means that there's two of them and there's only one of you,” Jane warned. 

“Oh, no, no, no. This isn't going that way, boss-lady. I'll just look. I promise I won't touch.”

\- - - - -

Watching James and Sam spar verbally in the kitchen, while working seamlessly with and around each other to get dinner ready for everyone had been a treat to say the least.

For superheroes or secret agents or whatever they identified themselves as, they were all right.

A thought in the back of her mind had her wondering whether she should be more careful and less trusting of these handsome men who charmed as easily as they seared meat and drew laughter and stories from her. Perhaps there would be a day when Darcy would be both of those things, but for now, watching them joke around with Tony who was happily talking a mile a minute in a way she'd never seen before, for now she wasn't.

Dinner had been a noisy, boisterous affair, with lots of food and stories and fun to go round and round the oversized dining table. There had been nothing but nearly reverent praise for Darcy's butter pecan ice cream pie, her frozen raspberry pie and her pound cake, to her smug satisfaction and oh, there was the fact that she'd sat beside Captain America all evening. Never mind that he and nearly everyone he'd come with had an appetite to rival Thor's appetite. James was seated on her other side, ensuring that she was hyper-aware of everything she did as she ate the entire night. 

Hey, beautiful man was beautiful.

When the last bite had been eaten and the last coffee mug had been drained dry, Jane got up to clear the table. When Sam and James tried to stop her, Jane shook her head and indicated a relatively sated looking Thor who lifted a hand in thanks to the two chefs for the night.

“Believe me, you did the heavy lifting for tonight. I for one, haven't eaten like that in ages, so thank you both.”

Tony pointed at Darcy and said, “But Darcy Lewis cooks pretty good. You don't eat like that all the time?”

“That's sweet Tony Stark, but my skills only extend as far as breakfast foods and baking and just generally anything that involves sweetness. This is a whole different realm for me,” she indicated the table, as she got up from her seat to follow Jane's lead.

Before they could get very far, they were relieved of their duties by Captain America, or Steve (as he preferred to be called outside of the suit), who quickly took over, claiming it was to make up for his lack of culinary assisting for the night. He immediately drafted Tony for his cause who grudgingly complied after a stern look from Natasha and Thor immediately backed him up. 

With nothing else to do, the ladies sat back down at the table, settling into the conversations that were still going on. Jane joined in on something Natasha, Clint and Sam had been talking about.

Darcy took a breath or three to calm herself and then she turned towards the crazily handsome James Barnes who was already looking at her.

“Oh gosh, that meal was amazing. I'll be sporting a food baby all evening.”

One corner of his mouth kicked up in a roguish half-smile, automatically pulling forth a grin from Darcy, who watched raptly as he ran his fingers through his dark hair, pushing back the flyaway hair that had fallen into his blue eyes. 

She was impressed that he managed to keep his eyes up at a respectable level, namely he kept his gaze on hers. It wouldn't have been the first time a guy used something she said as an excuse to give her a once-over. 

Granted, she wasn't cutting a particularly glamorous figure in her oversized cable-knit sweater, leggings and colourful knit socks. 

“You liked it, huh? Good. If you wanted, we could swap recipes? That lemon poppy seed pound cake was delicious. Steve's the sweet tooth outta the two of us, but if you were okay with it, I'd be willing to see you again for that recipe.” His tone was light and playful and his blue eyes crinkled at the corners as he watched Darcy for her reaction.

Darcy nodded slowly a few times, trying to keep a straight face, though she swore someone was playing a ridiculously rad drum solo...somewhere near the vicinity of her heart.

“So, just to get your hands on the pound cake recipe, you'd be willing to see me again?” she repeated, unable to keep the laughter out of her voice as he nodded at her, feigning innocence. “You think you're real cute, don't you?”

His eyes widened comically. “Me? Cute? Nah. Peggy does though, so on her behalf I'll accept your compliment. Thank you, Darcy. That's real kind of you.”

Darcy chuckled and shook her head jokingly raising her hands in surrender. “Umm, okay, wow. You are Trouble, aren't you? Umm, I'll e-mail you the recipe or something. I've taken up enough of your time, Tony probably wants to hang out with you or something. Ever since he found out you guys were coming, he's been pretty excited.”

The playful gleam in his eyes was quickly replaced by a tender fondness that Darcy recognized and knew well. Tony was a lucky kid.

“Yeah, I'd better go talk to him. I think I promised him a ride on Steve's bike last time.”

She tried not to let her confusion show as to why they were using Steve's bike, but it must have come through because he shrugged before explaining, “He keeps his bike here so it'd just be easier to use. What Steve Rogers doesn't know won't hurt him.”

Darcy's startled laughter at his comment drew Clint's gaze to her as James headed to the kitchen. She met his gaze when she realized he was watching and stuck her tongue out at him, smirking when he looked pointedly at the direction that James had just gone and back at Darcy. She shrugged and winked at him. Clint merely sighed and tuned back into whatever it was Sam was talking about at the moment.

She wasn't quite sure what made her look over at Natasha but when she did, it was apparent that she'd watched the whole exchange. The expression on her face didn't say much, but it was the look in her eyes that made Darcy squirm in her seat and she didn't even know the hell why.

Well, she supposed, there was no other time to get used to it. This was her life now. Welcome to SHIELD, Darcy Lewis.

\- - - - - 

_The thing was, it all came back to Nana's jewel metaphor. Love wasn't predictable. One didn't always fall into love. Sometimes, sometimes, it was as simple as making lemon poppy seed pound cake._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just three things:
> 
> 1) I might've packed too much into this chapter *sigh*
> 
> 2) I obviously don't know what simple means. For an example see point No.1
> 
> 3) This is the second time I've ended a chapter with eating, but honestly, this is the way things always end in real life with my family.
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you know I think you're absolutely wonderful for coming 'round these here parts!


End file.
